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Thai Government Comments On Gaming Curfew
Thanks to BBC News for their article discussing the reaction to Thailand's imposition of a gaming curfew for those under 18, as previously reported at Slashdot, meaning that, "For younger players [at net cafes] without the special [adult ID] logon, the game simply stops working at 10pm." Apparently, "The government say it has seen a significant drop in the number of nocturnal players since the curfew was imposed", and justifies itself by arguing: "But in the developing world, in Thailand, the parents, especially those parents who have teenage children, they must work very hard and they work until very late at night so they don't have the time to look after their children properly." But the BBC article wonders: "Is it really the government's job to decide what's best for the nation's youth after dark?"
So no more late night fragging my mum on Half Life then?
Is it a boat?
My concern is that if the parents are not around to keep their kids in bed and not out playing video games, taking the video games away merely causes the kids to look for something else to do - possibly more destructive or dangerous.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
"But in the developing world, in Thailand, the parents, especially those parents who have teenage children, they must work very hard and they work until very late at night so they don't have the time to look after their children properly."
This is bullshit. If you can't handle the responsibility of parenthood, THEN DON'T HAVE KIDS!!
Really, if these parents are putting their careers ahead of their children, they should be tied up and severly beaten.
CMDRTACO CHECK YOUR EMAIL!
"Is it really the government's job to decide what's best for the nation's youth after dark?"
Ironically, here in the UK, the problem seems to be the opposite - how to keep the kids off of the streets after dark. There's even legislation for so-called "anti-social orders" which , AFAIK, force a curfew onto kids making sure they're not hanging around on the streets at night in large "intimidating" groups. Trouble is, these orders rarely used because they're very difficult to enforce.
I wouold have thought that giving young people something constructive to do in the evenings (like gaming) was a Good Thing.
The only solution I've seen so far is the government passing legislation every time a significant problem crops up. It isn't fixing the problem, but it bandaids the symptoms enough that I can walk to my local corner store without getting mugged by a teen with a knife.
On the other hand, as expressed in another comment - a kid fragging is a kid who is having harmless fun and not bothering me. I say, let them play games.
... time to find some cheap alchohol and roam the streets.
... But, the parents DO still make the final decision. They can give their kid the adult login if they wish.
Do you know where your h4x0r is?
Personally, I think that I would rather have kids up playing video games until the wee hours instead of some of the other activities that the night can provide.
.cig - what you do after winning a good flame war
"But in the developing world, in Thailand, the parents, especially those parents who have teenage children, they must work very hard and they work until very late at night so they don't have the time to look after their children properly."
what they are really saying is that "our labor policies and minimum wage sucks, but rather than do something about it, we are going to make it easier for people to work themselves to death by taking cre of thier children for them."
http://www.popularculturegaming.com -- my blog about the culture of videogame players
Don't forget that since he just got kicked off Counterstrike, that he won't go audition at the neighborhood adult film company. Or go give some corporate exec a lapdance.
Right. Because we all know that it is the tax burden which keeps demand for labor in developing countries low.
A Thai Jasmine farmer earns about 200 US dollars per year, or about 8,000 Baht, which means they don't pay any taxes. An average family income is 161,016 Baht per year, or about 4,000 dollars. That number is skewed a bit high, as it is average rather than median, but we'll accept it. Of that 161k Baht, 60k is a standard deduction, there are personal deductions of 30k per parent and 15k per child, and 2k per child in school. Our theoretical 2 parent, two-child household has 154k in deductions, and falls into the lowest tax bracket. The average Thai citizen doesn't pay any taxes.
What about someone well off? 20k US dollars would be a very good living in Thailand, so let's say that both parents are struggling to give their children the kind of opportunity that can only come with education. At 800k Baht, 646k Baht after deductions, they fall into the 20% taxable range.
Those poor, struggling people, why does the government punish them so? Let's say it decides not to tax them at all. "Yay!" They think, and one of them quits their job. Assuming their incomes were split evenly between them, they suddenly have gone from taking home 670k per year, to 400k per year, or a total cut of 40% of their household income. Their not going to be able to keep up with their bills.
If you are going to post that Government taxation is the big bad boogieman destroying the life of it's average citizen, at least pick a government that taxes it's average citizen. A few facts wouldn't hurt either.
The ______ Agenda
the censorship/privacy issue here? I thought the Internet was supposed to provide access to information to everyone. If governments can put restrictions on access to computers (yes, even just game networks) it sets a precedent for more general censorship of our communications. Also, what's to stop the government from tracking the usage of each person with an adult logon? ...just to toss a little Big Brother-oriented paranoia into your day...
Sorry, my karma just ran over your dogma.
That this is after deaths related to marathon videogame playing in Taiwan & South Korea. I'm not saying it's right, but I'm guessing that this might have something to do with the decision.
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The article was about kids in I-Cafes (no valid "adult ID") not being able to play games after 10pm.
For this matter, and this matter alone, YES, IT IS the govt's job to handle this.
Let's have a (?quick?) logic & comparation here:
What kind of kid stays after 10pm to play games in a i-cafe? The kind of kid parents got out of hand already, the kind of kid parents don't know for sure where he is, etc.
No, I am not a parent, but I was such a problem-kid (right up 'till university, and even now, one year and a bit after, I can't stop in some days to just chat, read forums or play some online game).
Next, let's compare games to cigarettes or alcohol... they're both addictive in some sort of way. Do you sell cigarettes or inhebriants to kids under 18? Then don't sell game service to kids after their "supposed" bed-time.
Those kids could as well play from home (assuming they do have a computer there)... oh, but wait, home mom&dad see him and don't let him play... what a shame... so he runs to the new-age arcade: the i-cafe.
And with this new rule: SURPRISE! You can't play here if you're under 18... go home and ask your parents...
Seems almost too good to be true.
By reading this signature you agree to not disagree with the post you just read.
If you're fragging your mom, you've got bigger things to worry about.
"Is it really the government's job to decide what's best for the nation's youth after dark?"
Is it really the BBC's job to decide what's best for thailand?